On our first outing in the Unchartedseries, we had a good time exploring some great venues, but had some issues with the shooting in the game. We felt strengthened hearing it would be better in the sequel and that’s what I’m looking to explore today.

Our Thoughts

When a game starts in media res, like this game does, it really needs to show off what it does best. And in that, Uncharted 2‘s opening scene succeeds well. It starts with a climbing section that felt so satisfying previously, made cinematic by the train and its cold surroundings. There are a few secrets hidden early on, some small gains to be made, and after that some decent gunplay.

After that, we got to what’s really a tutorial break in – stealing an artifact with plot relevance from a museum. It repeats a few bits about jumping that you’ve done before, but then shows up more of the climbing, breaking in and, more important, stealth and gun fighting sections. The latter have improved a lot, with a lot more small groups and far less infinite respawns – even where they exist, there are better end conditions than reaching a point on the floor.

But as the break in into the museum shows, stealthing through the game is a lot of fun and works decently well. A lot of it overlaps with the climbing and free running sections, so you’re relying a lot on movement to take out your enemies. There are some really tense moments that use it and it makes the game’s combat sections mostly far more palatable.

Beyond that, the story is fine and the characterizations are good again. The interactions between Nathan and the other main characters are well written and relatable, making for a game that’s a lot of fun to play through. The animation is also really good – in particular where Nathan is concerned. He looks really good and moves so fluidly, it’s clear they spent a lot of time on it and man, does it help leave a good impression of the game, especially when he walks through these lovely looking, varied environments.

Final Thoughts

It feels like this game improved on the issues that were a problem in the first game. Combat still isn’t the game’s strongest point – exploration and climbing work better – but it’s smoothed over a lot, and having seen the more complicated combat areas as Peter played through them, it was a fun option to watch.